1948, Basin Street. Left to right: Ralph Stephens, Leon Vaughn, Aaron Davis, Clarence Williams, Milton Walton. Photo by Al Smith. Museum of History & History, Seattle. Did you know that Seattle’s Jackson Street was once home to a thriving after-hours jazz scene? From 1937 and 1951, the street’s corridor between Fifth Avenue South and Fourteenth Avenue South was often bustling with musicians and patrons of all backgrounds ducking in and out of clubs like the Black & Tan, New Chinatown, Ebony Café and Rizal Hall.
During this time, segregation was prevalent and redlining covenants excluded people of color from certain areas of the city. The Jackson Street Jazz District bridged the diverse neighborhoods of the Central District and the modern-day Chinatown International District which included Filipino Town and Japantown. Seattle’s Black newspaper, The Northwest Enterprise, acknowledged the district’s diversity in 1933, describing Jackson Street as a place where “all races meet on common ground and rub elbows as equals.”
In 2005, the City of Seattle erected a sign on the corner of South Jackson Street and 12th Avenue South to acknowledge the city’s historic jazz district and celebrate local legends like Quincy Jones, Ernestine Anderson, and Ray Charles. As the sign deteriorated over time, a group of community members came together to imagine a more robust way to honor Seattle’s jazz history forming the Jackson Street Jazz Trail Committee. The group replaced the sign and established an online, self-guided walking tour of the district. Check it out at: http://jacksonstreetjazztrail.org
In January, a group of Seattle Department of Neighborhoods staff gathered for a mini tour of the Jackson Street Jazz Trail with Paul de Barros, committee member and author of “Jackson Street After Hours: The Roots of Jazz in Seattle.” Though some of the buildings that housed these historic jazz clubs have been demolished, many remain. Our group visited four of the trail’s 21 sites including The New Chinatown, Ebony Café, Green Dot, and Rizal Hall hearing stories of the clubs’ origins and the jazz greats who graced their halls. The tour ended at Mam’s Books with de Barros and Black Heritage Society of Washington State President Stephanie Johnson-Tolliver discussing Seattle’s vibrant jazz history and why they were inspired to preserve it.
“I want people to remember, and I want people to get credit for what they did. Especially all these musicians who played on this scene. Maybe you haven’t heard of them, but that doesn’t mean that they didn’t contribute something that was part of a fabric that made it possible for everybody else to play. –Paul de Barros, author of “Jackson Street After Hours”
“My concern is, who is that history keeper that comes after me? A lot of our history is contained at larger institutions and just sits there. I want to think, how can we find ways to get it out and make it more accessible. So, we’re really excited about maintaining, sustaining, and keeping the narrative alive so it will never die. We’re rooted here, and even though some of the tangible things may disappear we still can find ways to acknowledge those spaces and those people.” – Stephanie Johnson-Tolliver, president of the Black Heritage Society of Washington State
Looking Forward
In addition to the self-guided tour, de Barros and Johnson-Tolliver are excited about some new opportunities for the public to learn more about the role jazz has played in Seattle’s history. The Washington State Black Legacy Institute held its grand opening on February 1, 2025, and will house the Jackson Street Jazz exhibit featuring photographs and stories of the venues, performances, and musicians that once lit up the late nights. The Jackson Street Jazz Trail Committee have also worked to install a signal box art wrap that will be placed at 7th Ave S and South Jackson St. commemorating some of the prominent female jazz musicians who played in Seattle.
Down the line, the committee has hopes to enhance and expand the Jackson Street Jazz Trail. Plans include incorporating audio into the self-guided tour for narration and music samples and adding new sites. As de Barros and Johnson-Tolliver sat sharing stories in the heart of the modern-day Chinatown International District they concluded that this project may just be scratching the surface, and they look forward to exploring all the ways they can continue to the tell the stories often left out of Seattle’s history.
“We still don’t have the Blue Note, which was on Jefferson and was the Black Musicians Union headquarters and a nightclub.” de Barros said. “Also, Frank Waldren’s House, and I want to include Ayers Café that was right there on Yesler. I mean, I think there could be a whole other trail along Madison.”
“I absolutely love the stories,” Johnson-Tolliver states. “I hear stories today from people who were at the Mardi Gras on Madison…The fact that it was actually a roller rink during the day and at night it would transform into this place where musicians and singers were all hanging out and performing. I am excited that we can expand”
Other Seattle Walking Tours
If you are excited about getting out for a stroll and learning some Seattle history, check out these other walking tours:
Redlining Heritage Trail visits more than 80 sites and covers over 14 miles throughout Pioneer Square, Chinatown-International District, First Hill, and the Central District. This self-guided tour is a partnership between the National Park Service, Wing Luke Museum, and the Northwest African American Museum and was produced to educate the community about housing exclusion and how Seattle communities came together to make change.
The Seattle Greenbook Tour, developed by Black & Tan Hall, highlights Black-owned and Black-friendly businesses that operated between 1920 and 1960. This walk also showcases some of the jazz clubs along Jackson St. as well as local hotels, restaurants, and barbershops listed on the Green Book guide for Black travelers. Learn about these businesses, the entrepreneurs who established them, what is being done to preserve and restore these historic sites.
Honoring the Legacy of Places in Seattle
Like these jazz clubs, our city is full of unique places that play a significant role in shaping our communities and our individual and collective identities. These gems sprinkled throughout Seattle represent spots where people have gathered to exchange ideas, sentiments, art, and recreation. They are more than the settings of our stories, they are characters within them, and they shape our past, present, and future. To honor the history and legacy of these places, Seattle Department of Neighborhoods has launched a new storytelling project called Stories in Place. As the city continues to grow and change, we are asking the community to share some of the local places that hold compelling stories for them.
Do you have a story or connection related to Seattle’s jazz history? We want to hear it! Reach out at DON_Communications@seattle.gov with the subject Stories in Place, Seattle Jazz..
